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write your own review of the Astron SS-30M.
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WX0NWS
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 2, 2011 11:52
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Great PS
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Works great for me.
PROS:
*Small and powerful
*Nice meters
*Nice powerful fan to reduce heat
CONS:
*Had to install LEDs for meter backlighting (see below)
*Power connectors are not the best but still work well for me, I would have rather had binding posts but whatever
Click here to see my LED backlight mod for this unit: http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?306113-Astron-SS-30M-Backlight-Mod
73 DE WXØNWS Donnie
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KH6DC
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 9, 2011 19:47
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So Far So Good
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Had this for 3 months now since my RS35M died with a shorted transformer. I modified the PS by adding a 5W 100 ohm bypass resister across the fan thermal switch so it stays on all the time but not at full power. I also added blue LEDs to the meters since I like the blue color. It's been working like a champ so far.
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K1IW
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Rating: 3/5
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Jun 6, 2011 13:30
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OK, and a fix for the power connectors
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had one of these that at random times wouldn't power up. I brought it back and the store replaced it for me; the second one worked fine.
On a different occasion, I got another unit which had the same issue.
So while I don't mind buying one of these new, with a warranty, I wouldn't recommend buying one without one. Of course maybe I had an early unit and there was a design issue which was fixed in later production runs.
I currently own this plus an SS-25A and a Ten-Tec model 963, which is a relabelled SS-25A. All work
very reliably.
As for the power connectors, after the warranty is up, open the supply, unbolt the lugs from the back side of the connector then remove the connectors themselves (they snap in/out). Put them in a vise and drill a 11/32 bit all the way through. The metal is really soft and you can drill through it very easily. Be sure to drill perpendicular so that the threaded post on the inside will fall off. Now slip an 8-32 x 1 1/2 bolt through the lugs and then through the hole from the inside going to the outside. Secure the bolt with a toothwasher and nut. Now you have normal, threaded posts like they used to make!
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WB4SON
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Rating: 2/5
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Apr 17, 2011 20:07
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Lots of RF noise, flimsy DC connectors, noisy fan
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Let me start by saying I am a fan of Astron in general, and as I look around my shack I see 5 linear Astron supplies and my first SS-30M switcher.
Despite a sense of "you should never trust a switcher", I decided to power my latest rig using an Astron SS-30M because of the glowing reviews I had read on eham.net.
I was very impressed with the light weight and small size of the power-supply. However, I was initially turned off by its faded redish pink and black DC connections on the back. It was almost impossible to locate a screwdriver with a small enough blade to insert in the opening. I did manage to get the DC cable installed, but felt it would come loose at any moment.
The power supply came up and produced slightly higher voltage than I would have liked (14.1V) but ran silently for quite some time. After about 30 minutes of on-time, a fan kicked in, pretty loud, and cooled things off for about 10 seconds. It was much louder than my full size PC.
The on-air receive experience was horrifying. Wide band noise was all over the 160 and 80 Meter band. Some fairly wide band noise signals (about 40 KHz wide) shifted in and out of the passband on 40, 20 and 30 meters. All of this RFI despite the fact that my antennas are 70 feet away from the rig. After a week of QSOs that were drowned out by the hash drifting up and down, I gave up and put it back in the box. Shame on me if I ever buy another switching supply.
To add insult to injury, when I removed the DC cable to swap it over to a new Astron RS-35M supply, the SS-30M screw terminal broke and parts of the brass screw head fell out.
I have a lot of respect for Astron and hope they will refund my money. This is simply NOT a good choice for a HF radio.
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K6USN
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 8, 2011 19:15
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Solid and dependable
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is my second SS 30M. The first one is still going strong after almost a decade of use powering 100W HF radios on CW and SSB. I also use it on 10M FM on occasion at reduced power levels.
The new one I got this week has several improvements and one drawback.
Improvements:
a) Better fan regulation. Does not come on nearly as much and seems quieter.
b) Backlighted meters - a very nice touch! They seem to be accurate also, based on testing them on my Fluke meter.
Drawback:
I miss the binding posts for the 12V power cord. The new cut and crimp with a set screw style does not allow a second set of wires to power a second radio or tuner.
It never feels secure with stranded wire - most OEM 12v power cords are stranded wire and with stranded I prefer the ring style lugs that can be crimped and soldered.
Overall, an outstanding power supply with excellent reliability. If I could I'd give it a 4.5 for the one negative feature noted above.
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N4KVE
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 30, 2010 14:10
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GREAT SUPPLY
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had one of these for years. I only use it on VHF-UHF radios. For HF I use the heavy linear supplies. The fan noise did bother me, so I installed a 100 ohm resister in line to the fan. Mine was an early model which used the threaded studs with nuts like the linear supplies have always used. I don't like the newer style where you have to tighten a screw & use skinny wire. It works great on my dual banders, but for HF I'll stick with a big heavy transformer type supply. GARY N4KVE
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WV4I
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 21, 2010 06:07
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great customer support
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This power supply is lightweight, easily powers 100W radios, smaller V/U amps, etc. It does accept 10-12 gauge power wires, which if stranded, need to be tinned, else the retaining set screw may get stuck by a strand, in the OEM power terminal, what happened to me. The power terminal is fairly unique, so I called Astron and they simply shipped me a new one to replace the one I mangled. No charge......
I have not not noticed any objectionable fan noise, or birdies that could be tracked to this power supply. I do work a lot of CW, wear headphones, and do get practice with notch filters for tuner uppers, etc. But with the literal thousands of ways a ham staion can be configured, anything is possible, RFI wise. Best birdie story I have is a Direct TV receiver getting into 60M.....never liked DTV anyway.
Nice product Astron! I have the RS-70M also, a real brute, for those times when I've owned high power, solid state amps, only way to go.
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RADIO_RANDY
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 18, 2010 16:29
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Nice supply, but...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is a great supply for 2 Meter FM and higher. We have several of them, both with meters and without, powering our various desktop base stations.
I have to agree somewhat with other detractors that spoke somewhat reservedly about these switchers, however. One, the fan is louder than I like. The supply was mounted below my desk, but the noise was still disturbing even though I was using a Heil "closed back" headset. Second, a birdie chased me up and down the band during last year's 10 Meter contest. I finally realized it was going in concert with the fan's turning on and off. As the power supply heated and cooled, the birdie would move around. A switch to my RS-20A fixed the problem.
Now, the birdie was not overly objectional as I was using a beam on top of a 40' tower, however, 10 Meters is pretty dead right now and the lower the background noise, the better. I have no experience using the supply on 6 Meters and up, so your mileage may vary.
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W9GDH
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 17, 2010 16:49
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Some Problems
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Good small Power Supply. Had strong birdies on 75M and 40m. Cut the wires going to the meter lamps at the main board. Now very,very quiet. Also added a 100 ohm resistor across the fan thermal switch. Fan is now always one at a very slow speed and very quiet. See this web site for all this info. http://madpower.com/jk/Hamradio/astron/
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K4BTC
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 17, 2010 03:33
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Good steady supply.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I like the supply! It has a few problems such as some interference on 40m and 30m. I did some searching on the internet and found that the screws being loose on the board holding it to the chassis wil cause this problem. The solution was 2 fold. Tighten the screws and check them periodically or add a ground strip from each screw to the chassis and solder it in and this should cure the problem. I checked mine and sure enought the screws were loose. I tightened them up and it all went away. If and when they become loose again, I will then solder the ground strips in and fix it permanently.
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